Construction crew digging basement unearth car

A view of the dig scene where car parts have been excavated and placed in a pile.

An overhead view of the discovery scene.

The four victims -- no one has ever been caught in connection to their slayings.

GENESEE COUNTY, MI (WNEM) -

WNEM.com has learned that authorities are investigating after a construction crew digging a basement unearthed parts of a buried car.

The discovery was made around 5 p.m. Monday in a new housing development in Grand Blanc Township, south of the city of Flint, and only a few miles north of the Oakland County line.

According to Michigan State Police, construction workers digging a basement off Baldwin Road for a home found chopped pieces of cars and some of them appeared to be from a blue AMC Gremlin.

They called police when they made the discovery. The MSP's Bridgeport crime lab came down and excavated through the night. They've found several pieces of different models of cars. The land where the parts were found used to be a farm.

Police think the blue Gremlin could be involved in a cold case out of Oakland County stemming from the mid-70s where four children were killed. A blue AMC Gremlin with white racing stripe was the vehicle description at the time. More specifically, one of the killed children was seen talking to a man behind the wheel of a blue Gremlin between February 1976 and March 1977.

Police told WNEM.com they think they'll be at the scene processing evidence for another five or six hours. Authorities told TV5's Erik Horn they have no idea how the car or parts got buried.

There's no telling just how long the car and pieces have been buried, but decades ago, the area where they were found was farm fields and heavily wooded. Because there are parts of other vehicles, investigators are not sure where all the evidence will lead them.

Authorities have also speculated that the spare parts could have been part of a chop shop operation.

Meanwhile, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the Oakland County Child Killer Task Force is investigating the excavation of what appears to be a blue AMC Gremlin. "All of the current Task Force members who worked this case from the beginning, including me as a rookie patrol officer, have a deep desire to bring this case to a close for the victims and their families," said Bouchard on Tuesday. "The State Police and all of our local partners as well as the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, remain committed to that goal. We will continue to actively investigate and pursue any potential leads. The Task Forces recognizes there have been a lot of high hopes dashed when leads have not come to fruition in the past. If anything further develops, the Task Force certainly will make the public aware."

The four victims ranged in age from 10 to 12. They were kidnapped and found dead between 1976 and 1977, and investigators said they were each held from 4 to 19 days before being murdered. Their killer has never been caught.

Stay with WNEM.com and TV5 as we continue to follow this story.

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Interim Glynn County Police Chief John Powell announced that the department is offering a $2,500 dollar reward on Tuesday for any information that could lead to the arrest of any person(s) who could be responsible for the death of 18-year-old Tashara Culbreath.

Interim Glynn County Police Chief John Powell announced that the department is offering a $2,500 dollar reward on Tuesday for any information that could lead to the arrest of any person(s) who could be responsible for the death of 18-year-old Tashara Culbreath.